FBI: Valuable Artwork Stolen In Detroit

DETROIT (WWJ) – The FBI is on the hunt for 19 rare and valuable contemporary works of art that were stolen from a local collector who temporarily had them stored in his Corktown business.

FBI spokesman Simon Shaykhet said the works, which include a “Flowers” silkscreen by Andy Warhol, were not locked up or on display. And the art works are reportedly worth millions.

Shaykhet said they’re not ruling anything out.

“It could be somebody that could have had prior knowledge of where this art was going to be. Or it could’ve been a crime of opportunity where somebody happened to be inside the building and had seen it,” Shaykhet told WWJ Newsradio 950.

“There’s a strong likelihood that this artwork has been already taken either out of state or possibly even out of the country,” he said. “So we’re putting out the message to anyone in the art community, anyone who’s shopping online and looking at art, anyone who’s involved in the pawn shop business, that these could all be avenues that someone who’s stolen this art could pursue in order to try to make a profit.”

A $5,000 dollar reward is being offered to anyone who finds the stolen art.